ITU-D Study Groups provide an opportunity for all Member States and Sector Members (including Associates and Academia) to share experiences, present ideas, exchange views, and achieve consensus on appropriate strategies to address ICT priorities. ITU-D Study Groups are responsible for developing Reports, Guidelines, and Recommendations based on input received from the membership. Information is gathered through surveys, contributions and case studies and is made available for easy access by the membership using content management and web publication tools. The Study Groups examine specific task-oriented telecommunication/ICT questions of priority to developing countries, to support them in achieving their development goals.

Outputs agreed on in the ITU-D Study Groups, and related reference material, are used as input for the implementation of policies, strategies, projects and special initiatives in Member States. These activities also serve to strengthen the shared knowledge base of the membership. Sharing of topics of common interest is carried out through face-to-face meetings, online e-Forum and remote participation in an atmosphere that encourages open debate and exchange of information and for receiving input from experts on the topics under study.

ITU-D STUDY GROUPS 1 AND 2

The scope of STUDY GROUP 1 on "Enabling environment for the development of telecommunications/ICTs" is:

- National telecommunication/ICT policy, regulatory, technical and strategy development which best enables countries to benefit from the impetus of telecommunications/ICTs, including broadband, cloud computing and consumer protection, as an engine for sustainable growth.- Economic policies and methods of determining costs of services r...

The scope of STUDY GROUP 1 on "Enabling environment for the development of telecommunications/ICTs" is:

- National telecommunication/ICT policy, regulatory, technical and strategy development which best enables countries to benefit from the impetus of telecommunications/ICTs, including broadband, cloud computing and consumer protection, as an engine for sustainable growth.- Economic policies and methods of determining costs of services related to national telecommunications/ICTs.- Access to telecommunications/ICTs for rural and remote areas.- Access to telecommunications/ICTs services by persons with disabilities and specific needs.- The needs of developing countries in spectrum management, including the ongoing transition from analogue to digital terrestrial television broadcasting and the use of the digital dividend, in addition to any future digital switchover.

The scope of STUDY GROUP 2 on "ICT applications, cybersecurity, emergency telecommunications and climate-change adaptation" is:

- Services and applications supported by telecommunications/ICTs.
- Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs.
- The use of telecommunications/ICTs in mitigating the impact of climate change on developing countries, and for natural disaster preparedness, mitigation and relief, as well as confor...

The scope of STUDY GROUP 2 on "ICT applications, cybersecurity, emergency telecommunications and climate-change adaptation" is:

- Services and applications supported by telecommunications/ICTs.
- Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs.
- The use of telecommunications/ICTs in mitigating the impact of climate change on developing countries, and for natural disaster preparedness, mitigation and relief, as well as conformance and interoperability testing.
- Human exposure to electromagnetic fields and safe disposal of electronic waste.
- The implementation of telecommunications/ICTs, taking into account the results of the studies carried out by ITU T and ITU R, and the priorities of developing countries.